My very favorite aspect of The Biggest Loser (DISH local NBC, Tuesdays, 8 PM): Those gosh darn in- show commercials. You know, the ones in which the trainers engage in darling little commercial skits with the contestants, which are amusingly presented as spontaneous conversations: “Say, would you like to eat a sundae?” “I sure would, Bob!” “Well, it just so happens that I have here some sugar- free pudding cups, furnished by a company which also just happen to be one of our sponsors! Don’t forget to eat this facing the camera with the label pointed right side up!”
I love these! I really do! It’s the norm these days on reality shows, and quickly becoming so on dramas and comedians. (The entire Monday night block on CBS recently shoehorned the name of a car in to every single episode, a hamfisted gimmick the writers must have loved, and one which pissed me off so much I’m so not mentioning the name of said car in this space.) This is the executives’ battle against that sweet, sweet gift to the average television viewer: The DVR. Zip go the commercials, so the powers that be must find another way to bring us the glorious news about their amazing products.
The shilling is especially amusing on The Biggest Loser, since Jillian Michaels, although a perfectly fine fitness guru in most cases, won’t be picking up an Oscar any time soon. She waded through this week’s product push for a breakfast cereal with gritted teeth, then got on her radio show the following week to denounce the very same thing due to its high fructose syrup content. How delicious.
